The Charge

Bring the whole family…because children can't get into "rated
R" without an adult.

Opening Statement

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters for DVD, is a
layered piece of pop culture humor that embodies pretty much everything Adult
Swim has to offer. It's vulgar, childish, and absurd. This, of course, is by no
means a bad thing.

Facts of the Case

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters for DVD, or
ATHFCMFFTFD for short, is based on the popular Adult Swim cartoon series
which launched back in 2000. In the big-screen debut, we find the show's heroes,
Master Shake, Frylock, and Meatwad on a quest to save the world and discover
their past. Both of these acts are brought about rather incidentally, when
Master Shake tries to assemble a home gym called the "Insanoflex."

Along the way, the Aqua Teens run into a number of characters from the
series, including their neighbor Carl, Dr. Weird, the Cybernetic Ghost of
Christmas Past, Time Traveling Lincoln, and Neil Peart from Rush.

The Evidence

Not many films can proudly tout the fact that they were created on a $750,000
budget, caused a massive terrorist scare in a major city, and were shown from
beginning to end on television before hitting the theaters. Yet,
ATHFCMFFTFD can say all of that while holding its head high. It's a film
that's as absurd as it is stupid. It's inclusive, it's inside-jokey, and yet
it's charming. Is it a success? Sort of.

ATHFCMFFTFD is in limbo, three steps away from being either brilliant
or garbage. For fans of the show, it will be a hilarious triumph of a cult
phenomenon. It embodies the rise of the Adult Swim movement, which is
responsible for resurrecting dead shows (Family Guy, Futurama) as
well as dead characters (Space Ghost). Never in my wildest dreams did I expect a
poorly animated 15-minute cartoon show about talking food in New Jersey to make
it the big screen…and yet I can't help but feel that's part of the
joke.

The film has a layered sense of humor that I didn't necessarily pick up on
the first time around. Yes, there are funny situations, gags, and one-liners
fired at the viewer from every angle, but that's to be expected. Then there is
the absurdist, almost stream-of-consciousnessness, means of plot development,
which is confusing, clever, and altogether insane. Finally, there is the simple
fact that this movie was actually made, which is the biggest joke of all. The
self-referentialality of the marketing, the Borat-esque title, and the Meatloaf-style poster
art all add to this sense of being in on the act. By watching this movie, you
are playing into the hands of Adult Swim, and taking part in something
strange…and largely satisfying.

Thinking about ATHFCMFFTFD as a movie, however, is another task in
itself. While it's funny to think that the movie was made (much like Snakes on a Plane), there needs to
be some sort of substance. Right? Well, maybe not, but most people unfamiliar
with the show will think that. The plot itself manages to confuse while also not
really going anywhere, the scripted humor is largely stuck in the seventh-grade
gutter, and the pacing is rather uneven. It's not a perfect movie by any means,
and yet I don't think anyone involved really cares.

I find myself joining the movie in limbo. I was a fan of the show during its
early seasons, and just stopped watching because I found better things to
do…but I can always appreciate what the Aqua Teens are up to (especially
when it involves Neil Peart). But I can't help but feel that the movie could
have been more. Maybe it could have been funnier, or perhaps just some nicer
graphics. I have trouble excusing the aliasing and pixelation issues still
prevalent in this "big budget" (proportionally) adaptation.
Ultimately, it's a film that's alive and funny now; I can't say if it'll stay
that way.

As for the technical aspects, the film is pretty solid. It's hard to judge
the video quality of something like this, given the inherent technical problems
found in the Adult Swim style of animation, but overall it looks good. The film
is super-colorful, and boasts a few "special effects" that come with
an enhanced budget (like a CGI transformation sequence straight out of the
original Playstation). The sound is also very good, and the film features a faux
orchestral score, reminding us all that this is, indeed, a "movie film for
theaters."

The experience that is ATHFCMFFTFD doesn't just end with watching the
theatrical release of the film, mind you. This DVD is packed with an extensive
list of special features on two discs. You won't see this movie double-dipping
any time soon.

The first disc contains the original film accompanied by a commentary track.
The commentary isn't the best I've heard, but it is pretty funny. For some
reason, the track features not only folks involved with the movie but also Todd
Hanson from The Onion and Hall of Fame rocker Patti Smith. I'm not really
sure why she's there, but she's pretty funny. The track offers some insights,
but really just ends up being a bunch of people sitting around talking about
things that aren't the movie.

Also on the first disc is an excellent making-of featurette called
"Behind the Scenes/The Thing We Shot Wed Night." The featurette covers
almost every aspect of the creation of the movie, including some hilarious
scenes with the Foley artists. It's probably one of the only insightful special
features in the DVD release, but it covers mostly everything you'd want to know.
There are also trailers, a 3D animation test, and an art/music gallery on the
first disc.

I was a bit skeptical when I heard the second disc has a deleted movie on
it…I don't know why, given the rest of the stuff Aqua Teen does. It
is true, there is an 80-minute second film on the disc which is sort of a rough
draft of the final product. The story is a little different, featuring some new
subplots and such, but it does tend to overlap with the theatrical film. It's
also worth noting that this isn't a finished product by any means, and most of
the 80-minute movie is animatics and still frames. The deleted movie isn't
nearly as funny as the final cut, but it is a good look into the animation
process used for the show.

There are 10 fake endings. Some are funny, others are kind of stupid. The
same goes for the deleted scenes. Unfortunately, these features are in dire need
of a "Play All" button, because it's lame to have to navigate a menu
to load a 20-second clip over and over. The disc also features some music
videos. These are pretty cool to see, but most of them are studio recording
sessions with folks involved with the movie, including Cameo and Mastadon. There
is one, however, that is animated and features Nashville Pussy and Master Shake
rocking out. Last but not least are the Pete promos. These feature Master
Shake voice Dana Snyder in various clips and commercials promoting the movie.
There are also some projector trailers for the film which are pretty clever.

The package design fits the movie to a T. The DVDs come in a standard case
with the sweet Meatloaf/heavy metal/fantasy art for the film on the cover. It's
weird that even the back of the package made me laugh, as almost all of the back
cover is filled with special features. A lot of the features are scratched out,
rewritten, and elaborated on with handwriting. Some of the features are even
labeled on the wrong disc. Classy!

Closing Statement

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters for DVD is,
ultimately, for fans of the television show. I can try to convince you
otherwise, but you would just end up being disappointed. I've tried overthinking
this, but I simply can't imagine anyone who hasn't seen the show before actually
enjoying this movie. The film is pretty hilarious in the context of the Adult
Swim universe of throwaway entertainment and brief, chance, laughs.

The Verdict

Guilty of being a funny movie film for DVD for reviewer to review.

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